According to General Systems Theory (Bertalanffy), there are four components to a system. These four components are objects, attributes, relationships, and environments. Each of these parts affect the other parts and the system as a whole. In education, the delivery method is changed when teachers integrate technology, which affects the educational system in various ways and as a whole. An important concept to remember is that there are closed and open systems. Education is an open system which means that it does not function in vacuum, but rather has a relationship with other systems (Boileau, 2016). Imagine that technology integration is a system within the school system. Changes in technology integration will affect the super system of the school itself, and the subsystems of evaluation or design. In other words, each change affects the parts and the whole.
Why should Education be viewed as a system?
Rummler and Brache (1995) claim that without the ability to adapt to internal or external changes, the organization will surely fail. They also argue that adaptation is not an event, it is an ongoing process. They claim that leaders make big mistakes trying to fix people and not the organization. Organizations should be managed as systems in which parts affect other parts and the whole.
In light of these assertions, the advantage to viewing Education as a system that should be adaptive is that it is easier to understand that a change can not occur without it affecting the entire system.
Rummler, G. A., & Brache, A. P. (1995). Improving performance: How to manage the white space on the organization chart. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Why should Education be viewed as a system?
Rummler and Brache (1995) claim that without the ability to adapt to internal or external changes, the organization will surely fail. They also argue that adaptation is not an event, it is an ongoing process. They claim that leaders make big mistakes trying to fix people and not the organization. Organizations should be managed as systems in which parts affect other parts and the whole.
In light of these assertions, the advantage to viewing Education as a system that should be adaptive is that it is easier to understand that a change can not occur without it affecting the entire system.
Example:
People have smart phones ---->
Schools implement BYOD ---->
Teachers change instructional methods ---->
Districts change evaluation measures....
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